Ai Weiwei—artist, sculptor, and the brains behind the Bird’s Nest, the signature venue of the Beijing Olympics—was arrested by authorities two years after the final cheers of the XXIX Olympiad. Seized at the Beijing airport, police raided his offices and detained him for 81 days in a secret location...

For decades, China watchers played down the rise of a viable opposition to the Communist Party, citing the invincible iron hand of the Party and excessive government controls, which made it impossible for citizens to organize.

Chen was taken away in the early morning hours of April 27 shortly after it was discovered that his uncle had a week earlier snuck past dozens of guards, spotlights, and spy cameras around his farm home where he was being held under house arrest. Chen Guangcheng made it to Beijing and eventually to safety in the U.S. Embassy, causing a rift between Beijing and Washington.

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng’s brother fled his village in a daring escape similar to his brother’s—except Chen Guangfu is now believed to have returned home one day after reaching Beijing. Paul Mooney on the fear of retaliation that has the whole Chen family worried.